Trade Rumors: Young, LaVine, Brooks, Deadline, AD, More
Sam Amick and Josh Robbins of The Athletic have confirmed Shams Charania’s report that the Hawks are working with Trae Young and his representatives to find the 27-year-old point guard a new team.
As Amick reported last week, Atlanta has been increasingly willing to discuss Young trades for weeks or even months after the Hawks showed no interest in pursuing an extension, but the market for the four-time All-Star seems to be limited. According to Amick and Robbins, Young is searching for a new deal “commensurate with a star player.”
To illustrate the point about teams being wary of acquiring the diminutive point guard, Amick and Robbins cite a team source who says the Kings — long viewed as a potential landing spot for last season’s assists leader — have “no interest” in trading for Young. Zach LaVine, whose contract is very similar to Young’s, is “known” to have interest in joining the Hawks, the authors add.
Regarding Marc Stein’s report about the Hawks discussing a trade that would potentially send Young to Washington and CJ McCollum to Atlanta, Amick and Robbins note that Young doesn’t fit the archetype favored by the Wizards‘ top front office executives, and speculate that Washington might want either draft compensation or a young player to take on his contract, which includes a $49MM player option for next season.
Young missed his fifth straight game Monday due to a right quad contusion.
Here are a few more trade-related rumors and notes from around the NBA:
- Don’t expect Suns small forward Dillon Brooks to be on the move in the next month. Gerald Bourguet of Suns After Dark reported (via Twitter) on Monday that Phoenix isn’t interested in moving the veteran wing due to both his on- and off-court contributions. Suns owner Mat Ishbia essentially confirmed as much just a few minutes later. On FanDuel TV’s Run It Back show (Twitter video link), former NBA big man DeMarcus Cousins said he if were running the Lakers, he would trade Austin Reaves for Brooks “in a heartbeat.” Ishbia’s response? “Don’t bother calling… Suns aren’t interested. Dillon’s not going anywhere,” he wrote (Twitter link).
- Amick, Josh Robbins and John Hollinger of The Athletic discuss the biggest storylines and questions ahead of the February 5 trade deadline, noting that Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s situation with the Bucks is the one that holds the most intrigue around the league. All three think Antetokounmpo is more likely than not to stay put during the season, though that would depend on whether the two-time MVP requests a trade. Other topics include whether Anthony Davis will be traded by the Mavericks and role players who could appeal to contending teams. Hollinger lists Wizards forward Justin Champagnie as an example of a player on a team-friendly contract who could be a valuable in-season addition.
- Speaking of Davis, he and Kyrie Irving wanted to play together for years before it finally came to fruition last February, writes Christian Clark of The Athletic. However, the Mavericks duo only played two-and-a-half quarters together prior to Davis suffering a left adductor strain. Less than a month later, Irving tore his ACL, and there’s no timeline for his return. Whether they’ll be able to team up again before the season ends is an open question with Dallas expected to listen to offers for Davis, Clark adds.
Wizards Notes: Whitmore, Gill, Centers, Outlaw
The Wizards‘ acquisition of Cam Whitmore from the Rockets will be folded into a four-player trade with the Pelicans that was reported last month, a source tells Varun Shankar of The Washington Post (subscriber link). That deal sends Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey and the 40th pick in this year’s draft (Micah Peavy) to New Orleans in exchange for CJ McCollum, Kelly Olynyk and a future second-round selection.
Combining the two trades into one will allow the Wizards to acquire Whitmore without using a separate trade exception or a portion of their mid-level or bi-annual exception.
Houston is trading Whitmore to a rebuilding team to give him a shot at increased playing time, but Shankar points out that it might be just as difficult for Whitmore to get on the court in Washington as it was during his two seasons with the Rockets. He views Bilal Coulibaly, Alex Sarr, Bub Carrington, Kyshawn George and lottery pick Tre Johnson as locks to be in the rotation.
Whitmore will have to compete with young prospects Will Riley, AJ Johnson, Justin Champagnie and Dillon Jones, along with McCollum and fellow veterans Khris Middleton, Marcus Smart, Corey Kispert and Richaun Holmes.
Shankar also points out that Whitmore and Coulibaly were part of the same draft class in 2023, which means they’ll both be eligible for rookie scale extensions next summer.
There’s more from Washington:
- The Wizards waived Anthony Gill last weekend to avoid paying his $2.5MM salary for the upcoming season, but he’s likely to be brought back as the team’s 15th man, Josh Robbins of The Athletic states in a mailbag column. A new deal will be a win for both sides, Robbins explains, as the 32-year-old forward will earn about $121K more on a veteran’s minimum contract and the league’s reimbursement policy will cause Gill to have a smaller salary cap hit. Washington has a minor roster crunch as a result of its moves so far, so the team would have to make additional trades or cuts to make room on the regular season roster for Gill.
- The Wizards aren’t likely to pursue another center to join Sarr, Olynyk and Holmes, Robbins states in the same piece. Even though Washington ranked near the bottom of the league in defensive rebounding percentage, Robbins notes that there’s not a strong incentive to win this season because the team’s first-round draft pick will convey to New York if it falls out of the top eight. Robbins adds that the Wizards didn’t try to sign any big men when free agency began, and he doesn’t expect that stance to change unless Olynyk or Holmes gets traded.
- Assistant J.J. Outlaw will serve as the Wizards’ Summer League coach, team sources tell Robbins (Twitter link). Outlaw joined Brian Keefe’s coaching staff last July after five seasons in Cleveland.
Southeast Notes: Anthony, Wizards, Heat Play-In
Cole Anthony played a starring role in Orlando’s play-in victory over Atlanta on Tuesday, Josh Robbins of The Athletic writes. He scored 26 points and six assists to clinch the seventh seed for the Magic.
As Robbins writes, Anthony had a roller-coaster season in 2024/25, seeing his role fluctuate frequently as he averaged a career-low 18.4 minutes per game, so it was rewarding for him to help secure their spot in the playoffs.
“It’s been up-and-down for him,” head coach Jamahl Mosley said. “But just his energy, his spark, his juice, what he provides for this team coming off that bench, he plays fearlessly and that’s how we need him to continue to play.”
Now, the Magic are preparing for a first-round series against the 61-win Celtics.
“It was awesome, and we need that from him, to be ready and plug in and give us instant offense like that and just make the right play,” teammate Franz Wagner said.
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- Even though they won just 18 games, this was a successful season from a developmental perspective for the Wizards. Three rookies — Alex Sarr, Bub Carrington and Kyshawn George — started a significant number of games while players like Bilal Coulibaly showed signs of development. In a piece exploring learnings from the season, Varun Shankar of The Washington Post pinpoints Justin Champagnie as a valuable player but writes that players like Richaun Holmes and Malcolm Brogdon might be on the way out in the offseason.
- In his offseason preview for the Wizards, Keith Smith of Spotrac writes that players like Khris Middleton and Marcus Smart might have value for contending teams this offseason due to their contracts set to expire in 2026. In potential trade scenarios involving those players, the Wizards could take back long-term salary. Brogdon will be a free agent and the Wizards could theoretically involve him in a sign-and-trade while getting a minor asset in return. Outside of that, the Wizards will keep adding to their young core. Smith writes that AJ Johnson and Tristan Vukcevic are two young players in house to watch for bigger roles next year.
- The Warriors‘ play-in victory over the Grizzlies ensures the Heat will receive Golden State’s first-round pick in June, which will be either 18th, 19th or 20th overall, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. That pick order will be determined by random drawing. Golden State’s pick was top-10 protected. Whether or not the Heat hang onto their own first-round pick will hinge on whether or not they beat Atlanta on Friday.
- The Heat defeated the Bulls in the play-in tournament for the third straight year, with Tyler Herro serving as a major offensive catalyst, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. Pelle Larsson, who played many minutes toward the end of the season in a starting role, returned from an ankle injury and was available on Wednesday, but didn’t play. Forward Nikola Jovic is also close to making his return after not playing since late February. He was upgraded to questionable for the first time since then and could potentially return in the playoffs.
Wizards Notes: Record Loss, Sarr, Champagnie, Middleton
Losing games is beneficial for the Wizards as they try to maximize their lottery odds, but there was nothing to be gained from Thursday night’s performance, writes Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Washington set franchise records by giving up 162 points to Indiana and losing by 53 points. The Pacers overwhelmed the Wizards’ defense, shooting 64.1% from the field and 57.4% from three-point range.
“You should be upset,” coach Brian Keefe said. “You shouldn’t be happy. But it’s always about what you do going forward. Unfortunately, losses like this happen. You don’t want them to. No one’s happy about it, most of all our organization, me and the players especially. We’ve got competitive guys in our locker room. But it’s how you go forward. It’s always how you respond.”
At 16-57, Washington remains a half-game “behind” the 16-58 Jazz in the race for the league’s worst record. Robbins points out that the Wizards have been playing better lately, putting together a 6-4 run from February 24 to March 15 that included wins at Detroit and Denver. They also won at Philadelphia on Wednesday, so there were no warning signs that they were about to break this 54-year-old record.
“We’re competitors, so we definitely don’t want to be on the bad side of games like that,” Jordan Poole said. “I think we know that the longer you play, the more games you play, there will be nights like this, especially coming off of a back-to-back. I think we in the locker room know that’s not acceptable, especially for the standard that we’re trying to set, in how we played. But we’ve got to find ways to just learn from it, get better and then bounce back in a couple of days.”
There’s more from Washington:
- Rookie big man Alex Sarr scored 22 points Thursday night and led the Wizards in shots for the seventh time in the last eight games, according to Varun Shankar of The Washington Post. The No. 2 overall pick is enjoying his best month of the season, averaging 17.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in March, and may be making a late bid for Rookie of the Year honors. “I think it’s a nice accomplishment. But at the same time I think there’s way more than just getting (an) individual award,” Sarr said. “… I’m going to be part of this team hopefully for a lot of years to come. And what we’re building right now is more important than (individual awards).”
- In an interview with Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, Justin Champagnie admits he considered giving up his NBA dream as he fought to earn a roster spot over the last three years. The 23-year-old small forward’s efforts were rewarded this season when he signed a four-year, $10MM deal with the Wizards that includes $1.8MM in guaranteed money. “To be honest with you, I probably thought about quitting three or four times,” Champagnie said. “I always told myself no matter what happens, stay grounded, remember where you came from, keep doing what you’re doing, and let it be what it’s going to be.”
- Khris Middleton, who was traded to Washington at the deadline after a long career in Milwaukee, believes the Wizards have a bright future and could challenge for the playoffs soon, Scotto adds. “I think if you give us a full offseason and give us a full season together,” he said, “with the improvement of the young core, which is going to be huge, I think they can take a big step because of the way they work, how talented they are, and how smart they are.”
Contract Details: Two-Ways, Springer, Champagnie, Miller, Spencer, More
A flurry of two-way signings occurred prior to Tuesday’s deadline and many of those players who received two-way contracts in the week leading up to March 4 agreed to two-year deals.
Hoops Rumors has confirmed that Patrick Baldwin and Seth Lundy of the Clippers, Pete Nance and Jamaree Bouyea of the Bucks, Lester Quinones of the Pelicans, David Roddy of the Rockets, Miles Norris of the Celtics, and Jared Rhoden of the Raptors all signed two-year, two-way contracts.
As our tracker shows, that means that 25 of the 90 players signed to two-way contracts have deals that will carry over to the 2025/26 league year. It’s common for many of the players on two-year, two-way pacts to be waived during the offseason if teams decide there’s an undrafted rookie or Summer League standout they’d rather add, but those two-year terms give clubs the option of retaining their two-way players for another year.
Here are a few more details on recently signed contracts around the league:
- The Jazz used $634,437 of their room exception to sign guard Jaden Springer, who got a three-year contract that includes a non-guaranteed salary for 2025/26 and a team option for ’26/27. Springer will receive a $400K partial guarantee on next season’s salary if he remains under contract through July 25. That partial guarantee will increase to $600K if he makes the opening night roster in the fall.
- Teams that used a portion of their mid-level exceptions to promote two-way players to multiyear standard deals include the Wizards with Justin Champagnie ($1,800,000), the Clippers with Jordan Miller ($1,005,000), and the Rockets with Jeenathan Williams ($515,881). All three players got four-year contracts that don’t include guaranteed money beyond this season, though Miller’s deal includes some trigger dates — he’ll get a partial guarantee of $350K for 2025/26 if he’s still under contract beyond July 15 and half of his $2,191,897 salary will become guaranteed if he isn’t waived before the start of the ’25/26 regular season.
- Pat Spencer of the Warriors, Orlando Robinson of the Raptors, and Ryan Rollins of the Bucks all received straight conversions of their two-way contracts to standard deals, so they’ll each still be eligible for restricted free agency this offseason.
- Dominick Barlow‘s new two-year contract with the Hawks is a minimum-salary deal that includes a team option for 2025/26.
Southeast Notes: Suggs, Champagnie, Heat Injuries, Nurkic
With point guard Jalen Suggs out for the season after undergoing knee surgery, Magic coach Jamahl Mosley will rely more on his frontcourt players to create offensive opportunities, he told Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel.
“It’s going to be different handlers at different times of the game,” he said. “If we realize a team is fully aggressive picking our point guard up, we might have to play through our bigs. Wendell (Carter Jr.), Goga (Bitadze), JI (Jonathan Isaac), those guys being able to handle the basketball and get us into easier sets. If they’re not pressuring Paolo (Banchero) and Franz (Wagner), those guys become our point-forward play-makers. That’s going to be a big key but that’s also going to vary game-to-game as well.”
Longtime veteran Cory Joseph made his first start of the season in place of Suggs on Tuesday.
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- Justin Champagnie had his two-way contract converted into a standard four-year, $10MM deal by the Wizards on Monday. He’s been angling for a standard contract since going undrafted in 2021. “It means a lot,” he told Varun Shankar of the Washington Post. “I’ve been working hard these past four years of my career, trying to get to this point, and I’m super happy. I’m super thankful. I’m grateful that I got the opportunity here to be myself.” He will earn $1.8MM for the remainder of 2024/25, well above this prorated minimum. The final three seasons of the contract will be non-guaranteed.
- Jaime Jaquez (right ankle sprain), Nikola Jovic (broken right hand), Kel’el Ware (left knee sprain) and Andrew Wiggins (right ankle sprain) will miss the Heat‘s game against the Eastern Conference-leading Cavaliers on Wednesday, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. Undrafted rookies Keshad Johnson and Isaiah Stevens, who have been playing the G League, are expected to suit up for the NBA team to add depth.
- After losing his starting spot with Phoenix and getting traded to the Hornets, Jusuf Nurkic is eager to reestablish himself, he told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. “I’ve been in this league long enough. I know what the situation can be and how it’s good for the player to change the situation and have a fresh start,” he said. “I have an eagerness and excitement for the game again. I can’t wait to play again on the court.” He’s averaging 7.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists and 1.2 blocks in six games with Charlotte.
Wizards Sign Justin Champagnie To Four-Year Deal
March 3: Champagnie has officially signed his new deal and been promoted to the Wizards’ standard roster, according to NBA.com’s transaction log. Washington confirmed in a press release that McDaniels’ 10-day contract has been terminated a day early to open a roster spot for Champagnie.
March 2: Two-way Wizards forward Justin Champagnie is getting promoted.
According to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link), Champagnie’s agent Daniel Hazan revealed that the 6’6″ wing is set to ink a four-year, $10MM standard contract with Washington. He will earn $1.8MM for the remainder of 2024/25, well above this prorated minimum.
Sources confirm to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (via Twitter) that the deal has been agreed upon and say that the final three seasons will be non-guaranteed.
Across 40 games for the Wizards this season, the 23-year-old is notching averages of 7.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 0.9 dimes per game. He also has a respectable shooting line of .504/.376/.674.
In eight Tip-Off Tournament games this season for Washington’s NBAGL affiliate the Capital City Go-Go, Champagnie posted impressive averages of 20.0 points, 8.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.1 steals per game, on .483/.350/.750 shooting.
After initially going undrafted out of Pitt in 2021, Champagnie suited up for Toronto and Boston during his first two pro seasons. He first joined the Wizards on a 10-day deal late in the 2023/24 campaign, and was subsequently brought back on a two-way agreement when those initial 10 days were up.
Jalen McDaniels currently occupies the 15th slot on Washington’s standard roster, having signed a 10-day contract on February 22. If the team plans to hang onto McDaniels beyond his current deal, another standard roster player would need to be cut to accommodate Champagnie’s promotion.
Elevating Champagnie to the standard roster will create a two-way opening for the Wizards, leaving only Tristan Vukcevic and Jaylen Martin inked to two-way deals.
The Wizards possess the single-worst record in the league at 11-48, and can afford to take an extended look at developmental players like Champagnie. This seems like a savvy move for all parties.
And-Ones: Trade Disputes, S. Johnson, Two-Ways, More
In the wake of the Lakers‘ decision to recind their Mark Williams trade with the Hornets, teams around the NBA are discussing whether the league should introduce new measures designed to reduce the likelihood of similar situations in the future, says ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).
According to Marks, those clubs are wondering whether it should be solely at the discretion of a team and its medical staff to decide what constitutes a failed physical and whether a third-party mediator might be necessary to resolve disputes.
Those clubs have also asked whether there should be a window for teams to explore amending the terms of a deal after the trade deadline has passed if there are a concerns about a player’s physical. In that hypothetical situation, Marks notes, the amended terms would have to involve only draft compensation, not new players.
The Hornets have reportedly been in touch with the NBA to discuss whether they have an avenue to dispute the Lakers’ decision to void the Williams trade between the two teams.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Former NBA lottery pick Stanley Johnson has parted ways with Anadolu Efes for family reasons, the Turkish club announced (via Twitter). Johnson, a 6’6″ forward who appeared in 449 regular season NBA games from 2015-23 after being drafted eighth overall in 2015, is joining the South Bay Lakers. The Lakers‘ G League affiliate confirmed in a press release that it has acquired Johnson’s returning rights in a trade with the Rip City Remix.
- Five players, including Warriors big man Quinten Post and Sixers forward Justin Edwards, have been converted from two-way contracts to standard deals in the days since the trade deadline. There are several more two-way players around the league who could follow suit, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic, who identifies seven more candidates for promotions, including Wizards forward Justin Champagnie, Sixers guard Jared Butler, Timberwolves guard Jaylen Clark, and Pelicans wing Brandon Boston.
- Although the NBA pays a team a fee when it loses a home game in order to play overseas, that payment typically doesn’t cover the full cost of the lost revenue, writes Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. So what’s in it for teams who choose to take part in those international games? Vorkunov explores that subject, detailing the brand-building calculus at play for those clubs.
Eastern Notes: Middleton, Wizards, Cavs, Walker, Johnson, Buzelis
The Wizards don’t have a second deal lined up for Khris Middleton, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link), who says Washington’s plan for the time being will be to hang onto the veteran forward after acquiring him from Milwaukee.
As Mannix and Varun Shankar of The Washington Post outline, the Wizards were willing to trade Kyle Kuzma, Patrick Baldwin, and a first-round pick swap for Middleton, AJ Johnson, and a second-round pick because they like Johnson, wanted to open up more playing time for young wings like Kyshawn George and Justin Champagnie, and will create some additional financial flexibility in 2026 (Kuzma was signed through ’26/27).
I wouldn’t expect Middleton to have a long-term future in D.C., but if he can use the second half of this season to get closer to full health, he could have a little trade value in the offseason — he holds a player option for 2025/26 and would be on an expiring contract if he opts in, which seems likely.
As cap expert Yossi Gozlan notes (via Twitter), Middleton’s 2024/25 cap hit for the Wizards will adjust from $31.7MM to $31MM because his bonus for making the playoffs is no longer considered “likely” (because Milwaukee made the playoffs last year, whereas Washington didn’t). That will also cause the cap hit for next season’s player option to dip from about $34MM to $33.3MM.
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference with the trade deadline just over 24 hours away:
- Jason Lloyd of The Athletic advocates for the Cavaliers to make an effort to duck below the luxury tax line at this season’s trade deadline, pointing out that delaying the repeater taxpayer clock for another season could pay off for the franchise in the long run. Shedding the minimum-salary contracts of Tristan Thompson and Sam Merrill would do the trick, Lloyd notes, though Merrill has been a part of the regular rotation.
- Jarace Walker has been in and out of the Pacers‘ rotation as of late, getting his first DNP-CD of the season on Saturday. The second-year forward acknowledges that his inconsistent role hasn’t been easy to deal with, but head coach Rick Carlisle lauded Walker for the effort he has shown during workouts and practices, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. “I wish all top 10 picks in the NBA could learn about being the pro the way that he is learning about it and the way he’s adapting and the way he’s managing everything in his life to stay ready,” Carlisle said. “His teammates trust him. The coaching staff trusts him. Trust is earned and not given. I got a lot of respect for that kid. For where he came from his first year to the early parts of this year to now, he’s a man.”
- Cameron Johnson, who had missed six straight games due to an ankle sprain, is no longer on the Nets‘ injury report, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Barring a last-minute development, that suggests Johnson should be available for Wednesday’s game vs. Washington. In case you missed it, multiple reports this week have indicated that the Brooklyn forward appears increasingly unlikely to be traded.
- On the heels of trading two-time All-Star Zach LaVine, the Bulls had to be encouraged by what they saw from rookie forward Matas Buzelis on Tuesday, as Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times writes. One of the club’s long-term building blocks, Buzelis enjoyed the best game of his NBA career in a win over Miami, scoring 24 points on 10-of-10 shooting (4-of-4 three-pointers). “My confidence right now is high, but you’ve got to stay humble,” Buzelis said after the game. “My dad always tells me the sun comes up tomorrow, so you’ve got to go back to work. You guys can call it [a breakout game], it doesn’t matter to me. Breakout, I’m going to play the same way every night.”
NBA G League Announces Participants For 2025 Up Next Event
The NBA G League announced today that 27 players have been selected to participate in the 2025 Up Next event at the NBA’s All-Star weekend next month in San Francisco.
The event – which highlights standout players at the G League level and essentially serves as the NBAGL All-Star Game – features a tournament-style format with four teams made up of seven players apiece. Those clubs face one another in semifinals (first team to 30 points), with the winners meeting in the final. All three games will be played on the afternoon of Sunday, February 16, ahead of the NBA’s All-Star Game.
Ten players for the next Up Next pool are selected by fan votes, while the other 18 are selected by the league. Here are the players who have been named as participants for the 2025 event:
Fan voting
Note: Players are listed in order of votes received. Players marked with an asterisk (*) are on two-way contracts with an NBA team.
- Yuki Kawamura (Memphis Hustle) *
- Justin Champagnie (Capital City Go-Go) *
- Jahlil Okafor (Indiana Mad Ants)
- Adama Sanogo (Windy City Bulls) *
- Skal Labissiere (Stockton Kings)
- Kevon Harris (College Park Skyhawks)
- Maozinha Pereira (Memphis Hustle)
- Trevelin Queen (Osceola Magic) *
- Armando Bacot (Memphis Hustle)
- Keisei Tominaga (Indiana Mad Ants)
G League selections
Note: Players are listed in alphabetical order. Players marked with an asterisk (*) are on two-way contracts with an NBA team.
- Moses Brown (Westchester Knicks)
- Josh Christopher (Sioux Falls Skyforce) *
- Jeff Dowtin (Delaware Blue Coats) *
- PJ Hall (Grand Rapids Gold) *
- Elijah Harkless (Salt Lake City Stars) *
- Isaac Jones (Stockton Kings) *
- A.J. Lawson (Raptors 905) *
- Isaiah Miller (Austin Spurs)
- Jaylen Nowell (Capital City Go-Go)
- Dink Pate (Mexico City Capitanes)
- Daeqwon Plowden (College Park Skyhawks) *
- Quinten Post (Santa Cruz Warriors) *
- Lester Quinones (Birmingham Squadron)
- DJ Steward (Memphis Hustle)
- TyTy Washington Jr. (Valley Suns) *
- Alondes Williams (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
- Jahmir Young (Grand Rapids Gold)
The G League announced 27 names today, leaving the pool one player shy of the 28 required for four seven-player teams. However, the NBAGL’s announcement says two more participants will be named at a later date to round out the player pool.
It’s unclear if there’s a math error happening here or if Pate will need to be replaced since he’s also participating in the Rising Stars event. Further confusing matters is the fact that Williams’ name shows up in the graphic released by the G League but not in the press release.
However it happens, the Up Next player pool will eventually increase to 28 names, with those players drafted into four teams by a quartet of “influencer” general managers and then coached by G League coaches at All-Star weekend.